HDD data transfer speed

[eoniverse]

Newb Question

Right now using Ethernet I transfer large file media data between HDD's on two different PC's at about 110 MB/s. Lets say the sending drive and receiving are the same brand and both 7200 RPM. Would upgrading to the 'latest/greatest' MB gain me any transfer speed?

Going to SSD is not an option. Not enough storage and too expensive.

Getting the itch to build something new.

 

[lopri]

Unlikely. Transfer speed is limited by both the hard drives and the interface. It will take place at the speed of weakest link in the chain.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Nothing wrong with wanting to learn a bit more. We've all been beginners once.

Right now using Ethernet I transfer large file media data between HDD's on two different PC's at about 110 MB/s. Lets say the sending drive and receiving are the same brand and both 7200 RPM. Would upgrading to the 'latest/greatest' MB gain me any transfer speed?

Well, regular common 1Gbit Ethernet* tops out at 110-115MB/s. So unless you upgrade to 2.5/5/10Gbit Ethernet (read expensive), you'll always be interface limited there. SSDs would be a complete waste unless you're running 5/10Gbit.

*1Gbit = 1000Mbit divided by the common byte size of 8bit per byte gives 125MByte/s theoretical. The world isn't perfect, so you should always allow for a bit less then that in practice.

 

[thor23]

5ghz ac wifi might get you better speeds.

 

[eoniverse]

Thanks all. I knew mechanical drives have their own limitations but was hoping my data transfer speed threshold was not currently limited by the Ethernet. Too expensive to go faster at this time. I never thought about using the 5G either (so will give that shot).

One less reason to build a Ryzen . Too bad. Like having an excuse but may still upgrade 'just cause'. Kind of hoping the itch passes and I get to keep the $$, kind of hoping it doesn't.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Some of the new Ryzen X570 boards, have 2.5GbE-T ports, likely based on the RealTek chipset, and you can buy USB3.x-enabled dongles, with both 2.5GbE-T (TrendNet, Club3D) and 5GbE-T (QNAP).

So, yes, for $50-80 per PC, you could upgrade your network to 2.5/5 GbE, NOT including switch port prices, which are still fairly high. (Looking at $270+, all the way to $600, for an 8-port 10GbE-T / multi-gig)

 

[KentState]

Some of the new Ryzen X570 boards, have 2.5GbE-T ports, likely based on the RealTek chipset, and you can buy USB3.x-enabled dongles, with both 2.5GbE-T (TrendNet, Club3D) and 5GbE-T (QNAP).

So, yes, for $50-80 per PC, you could upgrade your network to 2.5/5 GbE, NOT including switch port prices, which are still fairly high. (Looking at $270+, all the way to $600, for an 8-port 10GbE-T / multi-gig)

Or buy a Aquantia 10Gbe adapter for each at $80 and run a cable between them if possible. Just do the transfers on a private point-to-point network.

 

[Arkaign]

100-130MB/sec is typical upper limit speed for copying between spinning HDDs outside of exotic situations. Actually above average compared to your typical stock 1-2TB OEM drives.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

One less reason to build a Ryzen . Too bad. Like having an excuse but may still upgrade 'just cause'. Kind of hoping the itch passes and I get to keep the $$, kind of hoping it doesn't.

Any advise on upgrading will depend on what kind of system(s) you already have. If you need your money elsewhere, I'd say keep what you have now.

100-130MB/sec is typical upper limit speed for copying between spinning HDDs outside of exotic situations. Actually above average compared to your typical stock 1-2TB OEM drives.

Yeah, you need pretty special conditions for optimising HDD transfer speeds. You'll only get really fast transfers if they're sequential. If you're copying a large number of small'ish files speed drops like a brick.